High School and Middle School Basketball Players Doing Yoga With Empower Yoga at Basketball Camp at Providence High School
The pop music coming from the Wrestling Room at some of the local High Schools isn’t coming from gym class or weight lifting but, of all things, Yoga Class! At Myers Park and Providence High Schools, the Basketball, Baseball and Football teams have been using Empower Yoga’s Programming as part of their pre, post and season workouts. Since teaching yoga to professional athletes has worked so well, high schools were a great target for this amazing inner and outer workout. It builds self-esteem and helps kids get out of their heads and into their bodies.
Since working with kids at their schools as well as local indoor training facilities like Carolinas Baseball Center http://www.cbcbaseball.net the results from Yoga have been phenomenal. The students report that they run faster, their core strength has increased, and that they really have fun! They also sheepishly tell their coaches and parents that their self-esteem and confidence has increased. “During our first season using Empower Yoga significantly increased our durability. We saw a significant decrease in injury and the kids seemed refreshed for their games. The pre-game warm-ups really helped. The kids enjoyed it so much we will be doing this again for Fall Conditioning!” Myron Lowry Head Basketball Coach, Providence High School. In this case, yoga is used as a secret weapon for High School Athletics!
Stretching, balancing, and connecting the mind and body are some of Yoga’s benefits. It’s more than exercise and helps young athletes to understand their bodies in a new way. Knowing what is tight or weak can make the difference between a healthy or injured athlete. Now even Harvard researchers are getting in on the trend! Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, the nation’s largest and most established center for yoga and holistic living created the Institute for Extraordinary Living (IEL) http://www.kripalu.org/article/407 . The IEL, in conjunction with a team of three research scientists affiliated with Harvard Medical School, are working on connecting the benefits of Yoga Practice on Sports and Education in the High School, College and Professional levels.
Kripalu reports this on their website, “Athletes of all persuasions have known for some time that systematic training in yoga and yogic breathing enhances mental and physical speed, endurance, strength, balance, agility, and flexibility.” Yoga could very well be the secret weapon sports teams on all levels are seeking to increase endurance, decrease or prevent injury and create life-long mind and body connections.
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